Battle of Stalingrad

This is a lecture 125 see the battle for Stalingrad in the ABCs of communism Series of lectures that accompany this Particular set a company of large seven That will be forthcoming in a couple of Weeks and as you know we have been Proceeding through beginning with the Battle of Moscow where the Germans got Seriously whipped and they’re going to Try it again at Stalingrad and in August Of 1942 January to January 1943 we wiped Out one-quarter of the Nazi army at the Battle of Stalingrad so after the Battle Of Moscow it was left to be played out Again in the winter of 1942 1943 in Stalingrad now the red High Command had Planted information on our own wireless Transmissions that the Nazis then Decoded now these decoded communications Convinced Hitler the Reds could be Finished off by a bold stroke in his First phase he took aim that his Hitler Took aim at the eastern Ukraine his Operation federica’s one pinched off the Soviet salient in the second battle of Kharkov and resulted in the envelopment Of a large Soviet force between the 17th Of May and the 29th of May of 1942 then His operation Wilhelm attacked boat sank On the 13th of June and Operation Federica’s attacked Kofi ensk on the 22nd of June all of this was building up To Hitler sending Army Group south for a Sprint forward through the southern

Russian steppes into the Caucasus its Objective was to capture the vital Soviet oil fields now this summer Offensive II codenamed case blue and it Included the German 6th 17th 4th Panzer And 1st Panzer armies poised in eastern Ukraine it was to spearhead the Offensive now the start of case blue had Been planned for late made 1942 the Germans and Romanian units that Were to take part in blue however were Besieging Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula Red Army resistance pushed Back the start dates for blue several Times and the city did not fall until The end of June Now Hitler’s bold stroke consisted of Ordering Army Group South to split into Army Group South eighth was to continue Advancing south toward the Caucasus as Planned with the 17th army and 1st Panzer Army Army Group south be Including pollicis 6th army and hall’s 4th Panzer army was to move east towards The Volga and Stalingrad in August 1942 While 20,000 US Marines were being Dropped and left stranded at God will Come out the Nazis spear had reached the Outskirts of Stalin’s city Stalingrad Had been as arts in before the Russia of The Bolshevik Revolution and after the Red victory in the Civil War it had been Renamed and made into a show industrial City the Krauts now sent their

Reinforced 6th army to seize it that was Their army group south beat with 300,000 Germans and half a million satellite Troops defending was general Vasily I Took off that si-hu i kov with 20,000 Men the red high command called Stavka Planned only to send enough soldiers and Equipment to allow Chuikov to barely Hold the city Well Zhukov gathered overwhelming Counter-attack forces on the eastern Side of the Volga River in other words To do again what he had done did the Krauts at Moscow a few months earlier Which itself was a replay of what he had Done to the Japanese at khalkhin gol two Years earlier now in early September 1942 the 13th Red Army elite guards Arrived but by then the kraut 6th army Was losing 20,000 soldiers Per week at Stalingrad the Nazis Mercenary allies were from Spain Italy Hungary Romania and the White Russian Traitor forces now these were charged With holding the north and south ends of The Kraut Volga front three cuffs 1964 book The beginning of the road the story of The battle for Stalingrad published by Old heart rinehart and Winston is the Definitive source and you can get it Online or in libraries now the trickiest Part on the 28th of June 1942 blue Opened as Army Group south began its

Attack into southern Russia the German Offensive witnessed the Red Army Offering a little resistance and Withdrawing eastward now this was the Trickiest part of Stalin’s plan as the Germans might get the idea that they Were being sucked into a trap Accordingly for battles were fought North of Stalingrad there the Red Army Made a great stand beginning in late August continuing in September running Into October the idea was to make the Krauts think that the Red Army could do No more than this desperate effort with Several armies making poorly controlled Attacks against the Vermont northern Flank now 200,000 Soviet army casualties Slowed the crowd assault and convinced Hitler that he could seize the city with Determined assaults sacrificing whatever Had to be sacrificed to win the city Between the 25th and the 31st of July 32 Soviet ships were sunk and another nine Crippled the Luftwaffe had rendered the River Volga unusable to Soviet shipping The battle began with the heavy bombing Of the city by lieu thought for that in The summer and autumn of 1942 was the Single most powerful air formation in The world some 1000 tons of bombs were Dropped in 48 hours more than in London At the height of the Blitz 40,000 Captured civilians were moved to Germany And slave workers now Philby was able to

Report that the Germans were convinced By the continuing continuing wireless Intercepts they decoded that the Red Army was retreating because it was Unable to do anything else in other Words they did not suspect a trap if They needed further reassurance it came When red attempts to reestablish into Big line failed as German units Outflanked them two major red pockets Were formed and destroyed the first Northeast of Kharkov on the 2nd of July 42 and his second at Villa rovol on 9 July 42 meanwhile the Hungarians 2nd Army and the German 4th Panzer Army had Launched an assault capturing Voronezh On 5 July 42 the initial advance of the 6th army was so successful and Hitler Intervened and ordered the 4th Panzer Army to join Army Group south a in the South a massive traffic jam resulted as There were few roads in the area both Armies were stopped having to clear the Resulting mess of thousands of vehicles The delay was long costing the advance At least one week so Hitler changed his Mind and reassigned to the 4th Panzer Army back to the attack on Stalingrad on The 25th of July 42 the Krauts Army Group south be faced stiff resistance With the soviet bridgehead west of Collec now they’ve lost many men and Much armor in that shootout now that’s To the west of Stalingrad on the 30th of

July 42 Army Group south be thought and Had pushed the Red Army across the Don River now at this point the dawn and Volga rivers were 40 miles apart Now these Krauts left their main supply Depots west of the daughter army group South B began using its Italian Hungarian and Romanian allied armies to Guard its left or northern flank Occasionally the Italian actions were Mentioned in official German communities Wherein the Krauts thought the Italians Were piss-poor on the 1st of August 42 Stalin appointed marshal Andrea Eremenko As commander of the South Eastern Front His political officer counterpart was Commissar Nikita Khrushchev these two Men were test the defense of Stalingrad Khrushchev’s dramatic or arrival at Stalingrad is shown in the movie enemy At the gates now the eastern border of Stalingrad was the wide river Volga and Over the river additional Soviet units Were deployed the Units became the newly-formed 62nd army Which Gerald Michael placed under the Command of Lieutenant General Vasily Chuikov at 11 September 42 now the Situation was extremely dire when asked How he interpreted his task Chuikov responded we will defend the City or die in the attempt a 62nd Army’s Mission was to defend Stalingrad at all Costs to accost generalship during the

Battle earned him one of his two hero of The Soviet Union Awards on the 20th of August of 1942 Army Group south be Formed bridge heads across the dawn with The 290 5th and 76th Infantry Division’s This enabled their 14th Panzer Corps to Drive to the Volga north of Stalingrad The German 6th army was then only a few Dozen kilometers from Stalingrad the 4th Panzer Army ordered south on 13 July to Block the Soviet retreat and turned Northwards to help take the city from Its southern extreme to the south army Group south part a was slowly pushing For into the Caucasus for lack of Supplies and Scotch Lee’s red resistance And couldn’t go any faster now the two Kraut army groups were now too many a Miles apart to support one another by The 23rd of August 1942 the 6th kraut Reinforced army reached the outskirts of Stalingrad meanwhile the 62nd and 64th Red Army’s fell back into the city the Germans were now set on taking advantage Of their intelligence so much so that They left most of their supplies on the Far west bank taking only what they Needed he captured the city well the Stolen retreat battles have been fought The Soviets have shipped their grain and Cattle and railway cars across the wall With out of harm’s way The Neyland Napoleonic battle plan Called for most civilian residents to

Participate in building defenses so 400,000 stayed behind Now Stalin rushed all available troops To the east bank of the volga Some from as far away as siberia all the Regular ferries were Destroyed by the Luftwaffe that then Targeted troop Mart just being told Slowly across the river by tugs and Again you’ll see some of this in the Movie enemy at the gates civilians Including women and children were put to Work building trench works and Protective force at fortifications a Massive German air raid on 23 August Caused a firestorm killing hundreds and Turning Stalingrad into a vast landscape Of rubble and berté ruins 90% of the Living space in the Voroshilov ski area Was destroyed between 23 and 26 August Soviet reports indicate 955 people were Killed and another 1181 wounded as a Result of the bombing the Soviet Air Force or VVS appeared to have been swept Aside by the Luftwaffe the VVS bases in The intermediate area lost 201 aircraft Between the 23rd and 31st of August with Only 100 aircraft sent as replacements In August after their arrival the Reds Had 192 serviceable aircraft fifty seven Of which were fighters the Soviets Continued to pour aerial reinforcements Into the Stalingrad area in late December but just enough to convince the

Germans that they were winning and that The Luftwaffe Had complete control of the skies of Course all this convinced Hitler this Stalin could do more no more when in Fact thousands of aircraft were being Assembled for a Counter Strike out of Range of kraut air recon on the east Side of the Volga now the burden of the Initial defense of the city fell on the 1077 anti-aircraft regiment a unit made Up mainly of young female volunteers who Had no training for engaging ground Targets these women anti-aircraft Gunners stayed at their posts and took On the advancing Panzers the German Sixteenth Panzer Division reportedly had To fight to ten seventy sevens gunners Shot four shots until all 37 Anti-aircraft guns were destroyed and Destroyed or overrun the 16th Panzer was Shocked to find that it had been Fighting female soldier In the early stages of the battle the Chica had organized lately armed workers Militias similar to those that had Defended the city 24 years earlier in The Civil War These were volunteers and civilians not Directly involved in battle production Staff and students from the local Technical University formed a tank Destroyer unit they assembled tanks from Leftover parts at the tractor factory

These tanks unpainted and lacking gun Sights were given driven directly from The factory floor to the frontline these Aimed directly through the gun barrel on The by the end of August of 42 Army Group South B had reached the Volga North of Stalingrad on the 2nd September Of that year the wings of the 6th army And the 4th Panzer army met on the 5th Of September 42 the Soviets 24th at 66th Armies launched a dawn attack against The 14th Panzer Corps the Soviets Withdrew at midday of the 110th the Soviets had committed 30 were lost Air attack from the Luftwaffe by 12 September 42 the Soviet 62nd army have Been reduced to 90 moving tanks 700 Mortars and just 20,000 men the Remaining tanks became dug in strong Points within the city on the 14th of September the Krauts attempted to take The city the 51st Army Corps 290 5th Infantry Division went after the male F Kurgan Hill the 71st attacked the Central rail station moving toward the Central landing stage on the Volga while Xlviii panzer corps attacked south of The Tsaritsa river rhodium since 3013 Guards rifle division and crossed the River joining the defenders Inside the city halting the kraut rush a Sign to counter-attack at the Lummi F Curve N and at railway station number One the red suffered particularly heavy

Losses on the 18th of September the Soviet first guards and 24th army Launched an offensive against the 8th Army Corps at Kalugin Friedrich or just Bad Wave after wave of Stuka dive-bombers Pre friending it preventing a breakout a Breakthrough the Stukas claimed 41 of The 106 Soviet tanks knocked out that Morning escorting bf 109s destroyed 77 Soviet aircraft rat war amid the debris Of the week wrecked City the Soviet 62nd And 64th armies which included the Soviet 13th guards rifle division Anchored their defense lines at house And factory strong points these strong Points by the way were made of tanks Buried in the ground that could no Longer do anything except shoot now Fighting within the ruined city was Fierce and desperate Lieutenant General Alexander rodimtsev was in charge of the 13th guards rifle division and received One of two heroes of Soviet Union Awarded during the battle for his Actions Stalin decreed not a step back and there Is no land behind the Volga the Germans Pushing forward into Stalingrad suffered Heavy casualties German attacks now Stalled in the face of Soviet Reinforcements brought in from across The Volga the Soviet 13th guards rifle Division assigned to counter-attack at

The Mamayev Kurgan At a railway station number one suffered 30% of its soldiers killed in the first 24 hours only 320 men of the original 10,000 survived the entire battle both Objectives were retaken temporarily now The railway station changed hands 14 Times in six hours by the following Evening the 13th guard rifle division Had ceased to exist but the Hitlerites Had been permanently reduced to Conducting the war of rats combat rates For three days at the giant green Elevator in the south of the city about 50 Red Army defenders cut off from Resupply held the position for five days And fought off ten different assaults Before running out of ammunition and Water only 40 dead Soviet fighters were Found though the Germans have thought There were many more due to the Intensity of resistance The Soviets burn large amounts of grain During their retreat in order to deny The enemy food now Soviet commanders Adopted the tactic of keeping their Frontline positions as close to the Germans as physically possible Chuikov Called this hugging the Germans this Slowed the Nazi advance and reduced the Effectiveness of the German advantage in Supporting fire their strategy was to Hold all the ground in the city for as Long as possible their tactics were to

Use converted multiflora Department box Locks factories warehouses street corner Residences and office buildings as well As defended strong points with small Five to ten man units stalin constantly Refreshed their losses by sending Additional troops over the Volga when a Position was lost an immediate attempt Was made to retake it with fresh forces The Germans were a long way from home And bleeding to death while the Russians Were building the biggest Counter-offensive of the war so far in Secret Hitler a bitter fighting raged For every ruined Street factory house basement and Staircase even the sewers were the sites Of firefights each side had to clear Each building room by room through the Debris of residential neighborhoods Office box basements and apartment High-rises some of the taller buildings Have been blasted into ruthless shells By earlier German aerial bombardment These witnessed regular floor-by-floor Close quarter combat with the Germans And Soviets on alternate levels firing At each other through holes in the Floors fighting on and around Mamayev Kurgan A prominent hill above the city was Particularly savage changing hands many Times in another part of the city A Soviet platoon under the command of

Sergeant Yakov Pavlov fortified a Four-story building and oversaw a square 300 metres from the riverbank later Called Pavlov’s house the soldiers Surrounded it with minefields set up Machine-gun positions at the windows and Breached the walls in the basement for Better communications Soviet civilians In the basement assisted the soldiers The Pavlov’s Pavlov house soldiers were Not significantly reinforced for two Months the building was labeled a Fortress my captured kraut maps sergeant Pavlov was awarded the hero of the Soviet Union for his actions by 27 September 42 the Germans occupied the Southern portion of the city but the Soviets held the center and northern Part most importantly the Soviets Controlled the ferries through their Supplies on the east bank of the volga The Krauts were never able to capture The key crossing points along the Riverbank now the Soviets build up a Large number of artillery batteries on The east bank of the volga this Artillery was able to have large the German positions or at least provide Counterbattery fire snipers on both Sides used the ruins to inflict Casualties the most famous soviet sniper In Stalingrad was Vasily Zaytsev whose Adventures are the subject of the Celebrated film enemy at the gates

Zaitsev severely demoralized the crowd Officer corps with 225 confirmed kills During the battle and a few comments About the women warriors many women Fought on the Soviet side or were under Fire as general Chuikov acknowledged Remembering the defense of Stalingrad I Can’t overlook the very important Question about the role of women in war In the rear but also at the front Equally with men they bore all the Burdens of combat life and together with Us men they went all the way to Berlin Unquote at the beginning of the battle There were 75,000 women and girls from The Stalingrad area who had finished Military or medical training and all of Them were to serve in the battle women’s Staff too great many of the Anti-aircraft batteries that fought not Only the Luftwaffe but German tanks Soviet nurses not only treated wounded Personnel under fire but were involved In the highly dangerous work of bringing Wounded soldiers back to the hospitals Who often suffered heavy casualties when Their command post came under fire Though women were not usually trained as Infantry Any Soviet women fought as machine Gunners mortar operators and Scouts Women were also snipers at Stalingrad Three air regiments in Stalingrad were Female

Three women won the title Hero of Soviet Union while driving tanks in Stalingrad Meanwhile from 28 June 2 20 September Luftwaffe fours original strength of 1,600 aircraft of which 1155 were Operational fell to 950 of which only 550 were operational the fleets total Strength decreased by 40% daily sorties Decreased from 1343 per day to 975 per Day Soviet offensives in the central and Northern portions of the Eastern Front Tied down Luftwaffe reserves and newly Built aircraft reducing Luftwaffe force Percentage of Eastern Front aircraft From 60% on 28 June 238 percent by 2020 September the crowd bomber force was Hardest hit having only 232 out of an Original force of 480 the Red Army Air Force flattened November 19th had Reached numerical superiority that’s an Important date because that’s when the Counter-attack is going to begin that Will destroy the Nazis all together now From 5 to 12 September 1942 Luthor for Conducted 938 sorties per day from 16 to 25 September and conducted 975 sorties Per day after 27 September 42 much of The fighting in the city shifted north To the industrial district having slowly Advanced over ten days against strong Soviet resistance the 51st Army Corps Was finally in front of the three giant Factories of Stalingrad the Red October Steel factory the barricading Arms

Factory and the Stalingrad tractor Factory on the 5th of October 42 leuf Force Stukas through 900 individual sorties Against Soviet positions At the Dzerzhinsky tractor factory Several Soviet regiments were flicked Out and the entire staff of the Soviet 339th Infantry Regiment was killed the Following morning during an air raid on The 14th of October 42 after receiving Reinforcements from the Caucasus theater The Luftwaffe intensified its airport Efforts against remaining Red Army Positions holding the West Bank luthfi For flew 100 1250 sorties and its Stukas Dropped 550 tons of bombs while German Infantry surrounded the three factory Stuka wings one two and 77 had largely Silence Soviet artillery on the eastern Bank of the volga before turning their Attention to the shipping that was again Trying to reinforce the near the Narrowing Soviet pockets of resistance The 62nd army had been cut in half Intensive air attack on its supply Ferries man it was receiving less Material support for its men forced into A thousand-yard strip of land on the Western bank of the volga the Soviet Bomber force long-range aviation a DD Having taken crippling sword losses over The past 18 months was restricted to Flying at night the soviets flew 11,000

317 night sorties over Stalingrad and The dawn bands sector between 17 July And 19 November on the 14th of October 42 the Krauts delivered and artillery Concentration of intense shelling and Bombing that paved the way for their First assault routes the 14th panzer and 300 5th infantry divisions led the main Attack towards the TAC tractor factory And another assault led by the 24th Panzer Division struck south of the Giant plant the onslaught crushed the 37th guards rifle division in the Afternoon the forward assault group Reached the tractor factory before Arriving at the Volga River splitting The 62nd army in half fighting raged Inside the barricading factory until the End of October the so v Controlled area struck to a few strips Along the western bank of the volga on The 23rd of october 42 romanian pilots Began flying a total of four thousand Sorties during which they destroyed 61 Soviet aircraft the Romanian Air Force Lost 79 aircraft Most of them captured on the ground Along with their airfields on November 19th on 8 november 42 substantial units From loof fought for were withdrawn to Combat the Allied landings in North Africa the German Air Arm fought and so Found itself spread thinly across Europe Struggling to maintain his strength on

The other southern sectors from the Soviet German front the Luftwaffe had Been forced to divert much of its air Strength away from the oil-rich Caucasus Which had been Hitler’s original main Strategic objective from the 1st to the 19th of November 42 the fighting Concentrated around what Soviet Newspapers referred to as Luna coughs Island that was a small patch of ground Behind the barricading factory there the Remnants of Colonel Ivan Luna coughs 138th division resisted all ferocious Attempts thrown at them by the Germans And then comes the great surprise the Counter-attack in autumn the Soviet Generals George Zhukov and Alexander Vasilevsky responsible for strategic Planning in the Stalingrad area Concentrated forces in the steppes to The north and south of the city now the Northern flank was defended by Hungarian And Romanian units often in open Positions on the steppes the German side Had never properly established the Natural line of defense on the Don River The Romanian armies in the area were Poorly equipped in anti-tank weapons the Red plan was to punch through the Overstretched and weakly defended German Flanks and surround the German forces in The Stalingrad region during the Preparations for the attack marshal Zhukov personally visited the front and

Insisted on a one-week delay in the Start date of the plan Stalin concurred the operation was Readapted to start on November 19th 1942 It was codenamed Uranus and lunched in Conjunction with Operation Mars which Was directed at the remnants of Army Group center west of Moscow the plan was Exactly what Zhukov had done at khalkhin Gol 3 years earlier when he had sprung a Double envelopment and destroyed the 23rd division of the Japanese army and We have already gone through that in These lectures and chapters now from 21 August in 1960 army lost 60,000 548 men Including 12,000 782 killed 45,000 545 Wounded and 2221 missing then Stalin and Zhukov launched their counter-attack big Surprise on 19 november 1942 with 15 Fresh red army’s operating on several Fronts According to Zhukov german operational Blender’s were aggravated by poor Intelligence they failed to spot Preparations for the major Counter-offensive near Stalingrad where We had assembled ten field one tank and Four air armies unquote during the siege The German and Italian Italian Hungarian And Romanian armies protecting Army Group bees north and south flanks had Pressed their headquarters for support Hungarian 2nd army was given the task of Defending a 120 miles section of the

Front north of Stalingrad between the Italian Army and Voronezh this was a Very thin line with some sectors of half To one and a quarter mile stretches Defended by a single platoon the Romanians had no effective anti-tank Weapons Zhukov says quote compared with The Germans the troops of the satellites Were that’s a well-armed less Experienced and less efficient even in Defence unquote because of the total Focus on the city the German Axis forces Had neglected for months to consolidate Their positions along the natural Offensive line of the Don River the Soviet forces were allowed to retain Bridge heads on the right bank from Which offensive operations could be Quickly launched these bridge heads in Retrospect presented a serious threat to Army Group B now similarly on the Southern flank of the Stalingrad sector The front southwest of Kotel neuticle Was held only by the Romanians fourth Army beyond an army a single German Division the 16th motorized infantry Covered 240 miles Paulus had requested Permission to withdraw the 6th army by The dawn but Hitler said no now as for Uranus on 19 November 42 the Red Army Launched operation Uranus the attacking Soviet units under the command of General Nikolai Vatutin consisted of Three complete armies these were the

First guard army the 5th Tank Army and The 21st army totally 18 infantry Divisions 8th tank brigades two Motorized brigades six cavalry Division’s and one anti-tank brigade the Romanians on the northern end of the Fascist line were obviously outnumbered They were poorly equipped without Fighting spirit and quickly overrun Behind their front lines no preparations Had been made to defend their rear the Response of the Krauts was chaotic and Indecisive without effective air action Against the red offensive army group South be collapsed across all its fronts And was unable to relieve the Sixth Army In over 20 November 42 a second Soviet Offensive of two more armies was Launched in the south of Stalingrad it Struck the end of the fascist line held By the Romanian 4th army corps red tanks Quickly overran these Romanian forces on The 23rd of November 42 the two Red Army Offensive met each other at the town of Kalach singling the ring around Stalingrad surrounded fascists were Comprised of 265 thousand Germans Romanians Italians and Croatians that Was one quarter of the 6th Army’s Frontline strength Krauts in the pocket Number two about 210,000 50,000 Krauts Were brushed aside outside the pocket The Red Army units immediately formed Two defensive fronts one facing inward

And another facing outward Von Manstein advised Hitler not to order The 6th army to break out he said he Could break through the Soviet lines and Relieve them accordingly meanwhile the 6th army was to be supplied by air a few Days later Hitler was at his Bavarian Retreat in Berchtesgaden and it was with The head of the Luftwaffe Hermann Goering goring declared that the Luftwaffe could supply the 6th army with An air bridge while the relief force was Assembled He said the Luftwaffe should deliver Only enough ammunition and fuel for a Breakout attempt he acknowledged the Heavy moral sacrifice that giving up Stalingrad would mean but this would be Made easier to bear by conserving the Combat power of the 6th army and Regaining the initiative he ignored the Limited mobility of the army and the Difficulties of disengaging the Soviets Hitler reiterated that the 6th army Would stay at Stalingrad and that the Air bridge would supply it until the Encirclement was broken by a new German Offensive on the 27th of October 27th of November 1942 the director of luth flat For wolfram von Richthofen tried to get This decision overturned the forces Under the 6th army and we’re almost Twice as large as a regular German army Unit plus there was also a corps of the

4th panzer army trapped in the pocket Altogether they would need a minimum of 750 tons per day and only a maximum 107 Tons a day could be delivered by air now General Richthofen informed Manstein it Was impossible to send 300 tons a day by Air Manstein now saw the enormous Technical difficulties of supply by air Of these dimensions the next day he made A six-page situation report to the General Staff based on the information of the Expert Richthofen he declared that the Permanent supply by air would be Impossible while this was going on Army Group South a continues its Invasion of the Caucasus further itself Until 19 December 1942 then the entire Kraut army group south a turned in full Retreat out of the Caucasus hoping the 6th army would tie down the red forces To its North Field Marshal von Manstein Commanding the newly formed Army Group Done managed the bug-out from the Caucasus He had the 20 German and 2 Romanian Divisions encircled at Stalingrad under His command as well as fellow groups Formed along the cheer river and on the Dalek bridgehead plus the remains of the Romanian Third Army on 23rd of December 42 the Soviet 24th tank corps commanded By Major General Vasily Mikhailovich Madonna reached nearby scarce gaya

And in the near early morning of 24 December the tanks reached tension Scylla the Krauts had those soldiers to Defend their airfield it was abandoned Under heavy fire in a little under an Hour 108 Ju 52s In 62 Ju 86 took off for gold to Cask Leaving 72 Ju 52s and many other Aircraft burning on the ground a new Base was established 190 miles from Stalingrad it’s salsa & salsa was Abandoned by 15 January 43 for an Airfield near Shakti that airfield was Attacked repeatedly on 18 January and a Further 50 Ju 52s were destroyed winter Weather conditions technical failure Heavy Soviet anti-aircraft fire and Fighter interceptions led to the loss of 488 Nazi aircraft meanwhile the 6th army Slowly starved and Soviet forces Consolidated their positions around Stalingrad while shrinking the size of The pocket Paulus Hilde Operation winter storm led by blond man Seemed to relieve the trapped sixth army Pushed to 30 miles of the 6th army the Started circle forces at Stalingrad made A feeble attempt to link up with Manstein but it failed Paulus knew that A massive breakout attempt would put the Entire kraut army group south a as well As be targets of the Red Army attack Resulting in the destruction of the Entire Army Group south a in the

Caucasus anyway his 6th army takes only Had fuel for an 18-mile advanced toward Von Manstein kraut high command told Paulus quote wait implement breakout Only on explicit orders unquote 16th of December 42 the Soviets launched Operation little Saturn to punch through The fascist line on the dawn and take Rostov jumping off from their bridgehead At mamoon fifteen red army divisions Supported by over 100 t-34 tanks Attacked the Italian coast area and Ravenna divisions and three days later On 19th December of 42 the Italian Lights disintegrated and they ran for Their lives on 23 December the attempt To read relieve Stalingrad was abandoned And Manstein’s forces switched over to The defensive to deal with the new Soviet offensives Zhukov pieces says Succinctly quote the military and Political leadership of Nazi Germany Sought not to relieve the 6th army it Wanted them to fight on for as long as Possible to tie up the Soviet forces Their aim was to win as much time as Possible to withdraw Army Group south a From the Caucasus and to rush troops From other fronts to form a new front That would be able in some major to Check out to check out our Counter-offensive unquote on the 7th of January of 42 the red army High Command Said three invoice to Paulus

Simultaneously aircraft and loudspeakers Sort of announced the terms of Capitulation on 7 January 43 the Offer of two paws was if he surrendered Within 24 hours he would receive a Guarantee of safety for all prisoners And medical care for the sick and Wounded prisoners would be allowed to Keep their personal belongings and Normal food rations and repatriation to Any country they wished after the war Paulus did not respond the German High Command informed policy quote every day That your army holds on longer helps the Whole front and draws away the Russian Divisions from it unquote the Germans Inside the pocket retreated from the Suburbs of Stalingrad into the city Itself the loss of their two airfields At atomic On the 16th of January 43 and the Goobric on the night of the 21st 22nd of January meant an end to air supplies and To any evacuation of wounded the third At last a serviceable runway was what Was at Stalingrad sky a flight school Which reportedly had the last landings And takeoffs on 23 January after 23 January there were no more recorded Aircraft landings from the Luftwaffe Just intermittent air drops of Ammunition and food the Krauts were now Not only starving but running out of Ammunition

Some Russian fascist traders continued To resist having no illusions about Their fate if captured now the Krauts Who were pushed back to the banks of the Volga had no useable tanks on the 22nd Of January 1942 Paulus requested that he Be granted permission to surrender Hitler telegraphed the 6th army later That day claiming that it had made a Historic contribution to the greatest Struggle in German history and that it Should stand fast to the last soldier And the last bullet Hitler told Gibble’s That the plate of the 6th army was a Heroic drama of German history on the 24th of January 42 in his radio report To Hitler Paulus reported 18,000 wounded Without the slightest aid of Bandages and medicines on the 26th of January 43 the German forces inside Stalingrad were split into two pockets North and south of the memo her gun the Northern pocket consisting of the 8th The court and the 11th court was now cut Off from telephone communication with Wallace in the southern pocket now each Part of the caldron came personally Under Hitler on the 28th of January 43 The 10th anniversary of Hitler coming to Power Gibble’s read out a pathetic piece Of propaganda Hitler promoted posted the Rank of Field Marshal null German Field Marshal Marshall had ever surrendered And the implication was clear from the

31st of January the 3rd of February 42 The Red Army took the surrender of the Last holdout generals and Paulus around 91,000 exhausted ill wounded and Starving prisoners were taken including 3,000 Romanians the prisoners included 22 generals and Hitler was highly pissed The enormity of what they lost there Would take a little wild it for even Them to figure for even the Russians to Figure out but just to make his long Story short there was the destruction of The German army for which they could Never recover and it never would now Hitler will make one more attempt at Reversing the situation and by his Attack on the the Kursk salient said We’re going to talk about that in the Next lecture and that won’t conclude This one for the moment and I urge you To be ready to get vol 7 to this series When it appears in a couple of weeks